Just developed my own film for the first time at home

antistatic

antistatic

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It was HP5+ in Ilfosol for 7 min. The negs are drying as I type. They look pretty good, even if I say so myself. (Well the photos themselves are are pretty trite as I have had the flu this week and there is only so many new ways one can "see" ones yard). I will get them scanned tomorrow at the local lab.

In my earlier thread someone compared their first set of home developed negs to their first kiss. I don't know if it is quite that good but it's up there. 😛
 
antistatic said:
It was HP5+ in Ilfosol for 7 min. The negs are drying as I type. They look pretty good, even if I say so myself. (Well the photos themselves are are pretty trite as I have had the flu this week and there is only so many new ways one can "see" ones yard). I will get them scanned tomorrow at the local lab.

In my earlier thread someone compared their first set of home developed negs to their first kiss. I don't know if it is quite that good but it's up there. 😛
Click to expand...


That was me and I've a good think about that statement and decided ... yep! I was right. 😛

Congrats on the first roll by the way and be sure to post some pics of your yard!😀
 
Congratulations. I did my first one last week and yes, it was surprisingly easy! I was pretty jazzed to see a photo appear on the negative. I think the trickiest part (need getting used to) was putting the film on the reel.

Then I just realized I couldnt develop 3200asa film with the chemicals I had :-/
 
Last weekend I used Rodinal for the first time since forever and Xtol for the first time ever. It was like my first time all over again. Deja vu all over again even. Developing film is theraputic. Printing those negatives is the next step.
 
Yes it was quite meditative. 30 seconds, tip, tip, thump.... 30 seconds, tip, tip, thump.....

It is winter here in Perth but fortunately if I put the heat lamps on in the children's bathroom it keeps the chemicals at 20 C. Their bathroom might end up smelling like a photo lab but I'm sure they will adapt. 😛

This certainly beats waiting two weeks for the lab to develop B&W.
 
Congrats! Now if you don't mind a bit of a pointer: shoot and shoot lots because if you're using Ilfosol S it will expire in 3 months or less. If you're using Ilfosol 3, it's supposed to last longer, though I'm not sure how much more longer.

I learned that out the hard way. Fortunately I was developing a roll of holga photos so I never had high hopes for anything 🙂
 
Thanks for the tip.

I bought the small 250ml bottle which should be good for 10 rolls at 1+9. If I average a roll per week I should be OK. More incentive to get out and shoot!!
 
Good going Anti! Developing a couple new rolls of film (the two roll tank is my smallest, so I always {well, mostly always} wait until I have 2 rolls) is one of the funnest thigs I do, photographically (kissing is way better though, imho.) It's always exciting to see what's on them!

antistatic said:
It is winter here in Perth but fortunately if I put the heat lamps on in the children's bathroom it keeps the chemicals at 20 C. ...
Click to expand...

You needn't work only at 20°C:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/chart/timetemp.html
 
Just did roll No. 2 tonight (FP4+ this time). I'm on a roll and I can't be stopped 😎

Only problem is, I can see a scanner in my future. At this rate I will never save enough for the 35 cron and 50 lux :bang::bang:
 
Congrats...

I remember my "first kiss", had the grins on my face all evening after seeing the images on the negs.....

Isn't developing your own film great? Makes you feel "invincible", well, at least independent from the photo lab anyway....
 
Definitely a scanner

Definitely a scanner

Congrats on taking the plunge. Developing film is therapeutic, but I never seem to have enough time to really get the wrinkles ironed out, so to speak. I guess the solution to that is to shoot more film!

Now, about a scanner. An indispensable tool even if you have a darkroom where you can print. A scanner lets you archive your negatives in alternate mediums that can be dispersed at several locations. Insurance against film deterioration, floods, house fires, or tornadoes! I have read that current digital medium is good for ten years and then it should be re-copied to new medium. My only advice is shop around and learn all that you can about the scanners that you can afford. Down in my price range, there seems to be a great inconsistency as to performance. I have a Canon FS2720 that has served me well, but is on its last legs. I am awaiting arrival of Minolta scan dual III to replace it. Others can give you better advice on which brand, what model, and how to use it than I. Oh, yes, I must mention that one of those little pocket sized storage devices (100 gig or bigger) is just the checker. Best Regards and good luck!
 
antistatic said:
Just did roll No. 2 tonight (FP4+ this time). I'm on a roll and I can't be stopped 😎

Only problem is, I can see a scanner in my future. At this rate I will never save enough for the 35 cron and 50 lux :bang::bang:
Click to expand...


Scanner .... that's more like your first heartbreak! 😛

Dust ... negative curl ... computer crashes ...let the fun begin!:angel:😀
 
Congratulations 😉
My first development was from zorki-4k (which broke on next roll) and I shot 3200 film first time in my life, using "lying" handheld lightmeter so it all was so random 😀 I've got few shots from this film exposured right and was really happy about it. I called my friend (seller from camerashop and good photographer btw) and shared my joy with him...

Since then I developed about 80-90 rolls (almost half of a year)...

And...
P.S.: scanners are headache...
P.P.S: Just got color negative film from lab + index-print... loved colours on index-print, I thought "wow what a success", and now after scanning I don't feel so, it just doesn't make me wow, so I am thinking about printing first in a lab, and then scanning (about colour)

Back to the topic:
Black-and-white film I am scanning and then ordering prints online from a lab, though now I am thinking about getting enlargener to print photos in "analogue" way, somehow I think I might get much better results this way
 
The other fun thing you'll dicover if you go the scanning route is that you have to tune your developing technique to suit scanning which appears to have slightly different requirements to wet printing. My best scans always come from negatives that seem initially to be under exposed and negatives that look like they are perfect often scan poorly and give flat dull images that require a lot of work in post processing ... it's all fun though! 😛
 
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